Mrs. Santa Claus: Movie Review

In “Mrs. Santa Claus”, Santa Claus’s neglected wife ends up in New York after taking out the sleigh a week before Christmas.

This charming musical makes me glow with the holiday spirit!   It stars Angela Lansbury as the irrepressible Anna Claus.  Besides that, the 1910 period clothing and setting looks absolutely authentic.

I can’t wait to buy the DVD!

A Minimalist Family Christmas: Book Review

This handbook shows how to have a simpler Xmas in “A Minimalist Family Christmas”, by Faith Janes.

Despite my holiday collections, I still think of myself as a minimalist.  That’s why I love this Kindle e-book.  It’s short and easy to read, which is convenient for a busy beaver like me.  Moreover, it has some great tips about gift giving, clutter, etc.

I wouldn’t mind reading this festive pamphlet every year!

Almond Macaroons

Every year, Sis and I make cookies.  Usually they taste awful.  However, this year, we finally succeeded with this sweet dessert.

We found this recipe in a magazine called “Taste of Home:  Best Loved Cookies & Candies”, winter 2013.

Here is an online version of the recipe:

Almond Macaroons

One change we made was using low-fat sweetened condensed milk.  We also lined the baking sheets with aluminum, not parchment.

Too bad some of the cookies burned on the bottom.  I guess we need to look at them more closely next time.

Besides that, another problem was that we had a hard time melting the chocolate chips (we poured the whole bag in the pan).  We used the stovetop instead of microwave, because Sis said that the microwave wouldn’t work.  To make a long story short, the chips finally liquefied.  Unfortunately, the chocolate congealed by the time we got around to using it, so we had to reheat it. 

Other than that, the final result tasted great.  Even the burnt ones were good!

A Christmas Carol: Movie Review

Scrooge is visited by 3 spirits who are bent on redeeming him in “A Christmas Carol”, (1999).

I can't believe I’ve never watched this TNT movie!  I was surprised that Richard E. Grant was in the film, since I haven’t seen him since “Warlock”.  As for Patrick Stewart, it’s hard to imagine him in any role other than Captain Jean-Luc Picard.  Still, he manages to do a remarkable job as Scrooge, seeming to be cold one minute, and threatening the next.  He also has a wicked laugh!

In short, I would definitely recommend this picture because of these two fine actors.

Family Gifts

Well, I’m finished with presents!  To be perfectly honest, though, most of them were bought by mid-September.  Unfortunately, I had to wait for Bro’s last gift. 

I’m also done with wrapping.  All I have to do is stick on bows.

Here is my final family gift list: 

• Dad
• Walmart gift card
• Kohl’s gift card
• “Medium:  The Complete First Season”
• Mom
• Kohl’s gift card
• 2 year lighthouse calendar
• “Goodnight for Justice 3 Movie DVD set Queen of Hearts/The Measure of a Man/Goodnight for Justice – 3 Disk Set”
• Sis
• Kohl’s gift card
• Barnes and Nobles gift card
• “The Hardy Boys:  Season 3”
• Bro
• 2 year outdoors calendar
• Reindeer Christmas ornament
• “Millennium:  The Complete DVD Collection”

I was going to give Mom “Lost”, but the movie set I purchased for her was something that she’s been wanting for a while.  The Kohl’s gift card for Mom and Dad was also a last-minute decision, not to mention the calendars and ornament for Mom and Bro.  What’s more, I decided to buy 3 gifts each to even out how much I spend.

Hopefully, they’ll like what I got for them.

My Time as a Salvation Army Bell Ringer

In 2006, my college honor society signed students up to be Salvation Army bell ringers.  I volunteered for December 9 inside the mall, and was placed across the way from a former Borders store.  It was just me and the soft-sounding bell, since the other person didn’t come.

Many people approached me to deposit money in the red kettle.  A man working in the mall even asked if I had a container to put spare change in for contributions.  My two hours were well spent doing this charitable work, and I had the best time doing it.

Here’s an interesting video on how to be a bell ringer:

http://www.givesalvationarmy.org/ways-to-give/bell-ringing/

Unfortunately, the Salvation Army web page doesn’t contain all of the participating areas for the country.  So, if you wish to help, google for your region, then register online or by phone.

Welcome Christmas

I’m all set for Christmas! 

For the next 8 weeks, I’ve gathered an assortment of fun stuff to welcome Christmas.  Besides sharing my Xmas collections and memories, I’ll also review a few movies.  Included on this Christmas list are the following:

• Mrs. Santa Claus
• Christmas Eve

In addition, I plan to read “Murder Never Takes A Holiday”, which contains two “Murder, She Wrote” mysteries.

As the holidays draw near, it won’t be long before snow sprinkles the earth like stardust.  Until then, let the festivities begin…